It all started back when I was a wee pup.  Yes 
there was Voltron, but then came ROBOTECH!  My 
best friend and I thought a veritech could kick 
Voltron's @$$... but who can be sure?  *Begins 
drawing Voltron vs. VF-1A manga*  I loved anime 
(selectively) ever since.  I couldn't watch 
Robotech enough and eventually it was pulled from 
the airwaves.  I called the TV station to ask 
them to put it back on the air (which I was sure 
would work), but they said they needed more 
viewers to agree with me before it could be 
done.  
I have always had the desire to collect things.  
(About 5 years ago I began keeping all manner of 
ticket stubs in a Jar, and I don't know why.  
Maybe I'll make art out of them one day.)  I have 
collected comics (I still read manga) and trading 
cards and I pick up the occasional figure or toy 
still... but there was a particular Kenshin OVA 
cel which broke the animated camel's back.  I was 
pondering buying ONE cel due to the cost, and I 
thought, well this one looks like a winner!  I 
didn't stop there and I decimated my (less-than-
vast) savings.  As a result, I have learned SOME 
moderation  :P  
One of my regrets (I have several) is not buying 
this Bebop cel, which was available just before I 
had resigned myself to buying cels (one, heh).  
(I hope it's ok to post the image here.)
I like different anime for different reasons.  I 
think in the case of the Kenshin OVA, though the 
story is fictional, I was amazed by it having 
been based on the events of this person's 
(Kenshin's) life.  The tale tells of a toppling 
government;  civil war between groups who have an 
equal desire to save Japan (but conflicting views 
on how to do this... so they kill each other); 
love found, denied, embraced, and then lost.  In 
a way this story is bigger than me and my life 
(yes, 9-5 IS exciting, but not that exciting).  I 
guess one could call that escapism... but who 
DOESN'T need to escape from daily life now and 
again?!!
Also, I just find the cels beautiful.  Not just 
in how they look, but also because they are a 
kind of working-class art since the artists are 
not paid well (based on what I've read), coupled 
with a negative perception of anime in Japan.  
Yes there is demon-infested pornographic anime, 
but there are also pornographic novels, 
magazines, and films too!  I think anime has 
gotten a bad rap for one particular theme within 
the genre, while the many other themes, styles, 
and stories go overlooked!  Thank God for 
Miyazaki.  He is at least a bridge between anime 
and the masses.  (My Japanese friend said to me 
that Miyazaki is not considered anime, and she 
also had a very poor opinion of anime, which I 
have helped elevate somewhat since she's spent 
time in the US).
Sorry for such a loaded respomse, but it's all 
one bag to me.  Long live anime!
That's my tail!
Cheers,
Bow chan